Ember's Cliff
by Violet Hills of Light
Summary: Life is perfect. Its been seven years since the earth exploded into color and change and a new one rose from its ashes. The Flock and few humans left are living peacefully on the island, but will that peace be destroyed when old enemies return and they discover they may not be the only ones left on the planet? Post-Nevermore. Fax, Fax, and more Fax. Read and Review please!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ember looked up at me with big brown eyes, shifting from foot to foot anxiously.

"Please mom? I want to try again" she whined and pouted.

I shook my head no for about the fifth time that day. Ever since she tried the last time and crash I've been nervous about her flying again. For weeks after, I had nightmares of her small, fragile body hurtling towards earth, dirty blond hair whipping and dark eyes filled with immense fear. The almost-accident hadn't fazed Ember as much, she was still a bit too young to realize what it would have meant if she had fallen, but the rest of us were shaken. But as much as I didn't like it, she knew I could keep her from trying again forever.

"It's too windy outside to try right now" I made an excuse lamely.

With a look of cold determination on her little six-year-old face, she stepped outside onto the porch and raised her arms. Obeying her command, the wind suddenly shifted and almost visibly disappeared over the horizon. The sun came out, illuminating the faded rainbow-like hues that filled the atmosphere.

It stilled amazed me when she manipulated the weather. The day we found out Jeb suggested that the self- mutations my flock had experienced must have carried down to the next generation. None of us should have trusted his judgment, most of all me, but over the last couple of years we'd learned to forgive him a little. But there would always be a part of me that would never take his word for anything ever again.

Ember looked back at me expectantly and I caved.

"Go on" I said and gestured to a nearby cliff.

She looked back to Fang for his approval, and he nodded with a lopsided grin on his face. But anyone who knew him like I did would have seen the worry on his face. He worried about her flying again just as much as I did. She practically ran out of the small house we had on a large flat cliff and waded through the thin river that separated our cliff from a much larger, towering cliff. Time had worn and aged it, not unlike my flock and the community that also inhabited this island.

Able to grab onto the large handholds carved into the side of the cliff, Ember quickly climbed the seventy feet to the top. Smiling, Fang laced his fingers through my hand and we climbed after her.

Once we got to the top she came to the edge and slowly extended her wings, all nine feet of them. Her wing were breath-taking, her primary feathers a deep purplish-black like her fathers, her secondary's brown with tan and white streaks like mine; a beautiful hodgepodge of shades and colors. I came and stood next to her and steered her face to me so I could look her in the eye.

"Are you sure you want to try again, after what happened last time?" I whispered and winced, remembering her almost going _splat_ the last time.

She shook her head yes with a giant smile plastered on her face. I nodded, and she threw herself off the cliff. I held my breath for a moment and looked down past the edge, staring at the jagged rocks sitting at the bottom. Suddenly, she came soaring upward, into the clear skies. She flapped her powerful wings and got higher and higher, climbing hundreds of feet in seconds.

I glanced over at Fang¸ who was looking at me with a serene look on his face. I smiled back at him, unable to control the pure happiness coursing through me. We leapt off the cliff to join Ember. I dropped downward, feeling the air whoosh up around me and the rush that comes with free-falling. Fang unfurled his wings, and I unfurled my own wings and rose powerfully in the air.

The rest of my flock¸ seeing us in the sky flew up to join us. Nudge got to me first, and immediately started on her ecstatic ramble about her new boyfriend, Jonas. About thirty yards away Gazzy and Iggy were hurling small snapping fireworks at each other, cackling manically. I shook my head, smiling. _Some people just never change._

"He'sjustsoperfectandIlovehimand -"Nudge said on hyper mode.

"Nudge, can you slow down? I can't understand what you're saying" I said, my mind buzzing.

She nodded and kept right on going. "Guess what he did yesterday? He made a romantic dinner just for the two of us! It was so amazing" she gushed. I grinned and nodded my head in agreement. She looked down and there was Mr. Perfect now, flying up to meet her. "I'll talk to you later" she said excitedly and flew with Jonas to a nearby tree.

"Eat sparks!" I heard Iggy yell in the background and a series of _thunk thunk thunk_'s. He paused for a moment, and glanced down to wave at Ella, holding their son Finn whose little wings were flapping happily.

I glanced over at Fang, who smiled and shrugged. "Boys will be boys" he said and banked so he was only inches from me, our wings beating in perfect unison. Just then I was wondering where a certain little wind controller was when a moment later a big feathery ball of fluff crashed into me, giggling.

"Hi mommy!" Ember said. _Mommy_. I was still getting used to being called that after six years, still can't believe it's been six years since she was born. It feels like just yesterday she was turning two years old, using the wind to blow her candles out.

"Hi sweetheart" I said, hugging her.

"I'm going to go play with Finn, see you later!" she said and flapped away.

"Later" I called to her as she dived. Fang nodded and followed her down.

I looked just past where she was heading and saw Angel, sitting alone by Dylan's grave under a large banyan tree. _Dylan_. It felt like a freight train was slamming into my chest every time I thought about him. He died four years ago in his sleep, no one knows how. He was just dead, just gone. Some people think he expired, but it just didn't make sense when the rest of us would have likely expired at the same time. There was never a date found on the back of his neck either.

Angel, reading my thoughts, flew up to where I was hovering. When she got closer I could see that her face was red and blotchy from crying.

_You ok Ange?_ I thought. Of all of us, she was the most depressed from his death. I myself didn't quite know what I felt towards him, and still don't really know. My feelings for him just sit in the back of my mind, waiting to be sorted out. _Yeah, I'm ok_. Angel replied.

_Are you sur-._ My train of thought was cut off when everything around me became silent. I looked around and noticed Iggy looking freaked out and pale, shaking. I flew over to him to see what was wrong.

"What's the matter, Ig?" I asked.

"I…I…I" he stuttered and trembled. He was seriously freaked, and keep in mind it takes a lot to freak any of us out anymore. He pointed a finger towards the horizon. "I hear something" he got out quietly. My raptor vision allowed me to scan the sky, and indeed there was something coming toward us in the distance. _Oh great, what now? What could that even be? _I thought right before whatever was in the sky came into focus.

And what I saw made my blood run cold, made me scared, and made me wish my whole family was locked underground, safe. What I saw, _was Maya and Ari followed by a pack of Erasers._ I'll admit, I am tough, I can be ruthless, and I've fought in more life or death battles than anyone should ever be in. I've been on the run from evil scientists, I've fought giant sea monsters, and I've faced psycho's intent on killing _everyone. _So what did I do when I saw two people who should be dead and a pack of half-wolf, half-human creatures, you ask? I fainted, at five thousand feet in the air.

**Hey Peeps! So this is my first Maximum Ride fanfiction. I hope you liked it! I was going to make this a one-shot, but I got some ideas for it and figured I'd add in a good 'ol cliffy while I was at it. Critiques, suggestions? Leave a comment! R & R please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hi again! Words cannot describe what I'm feeling right now. Every review, favorite, and follow absolutely makes my day! Thank you guys so much! **

**Ok, so this one is a little bit long, but I'm trying to work up to longer chapters anyway. Plus, I just couldn't find a good place to stop, so, yeah. I know there hasn't been too much Fax yet, but I promise, more is on the way! Oh, and I plan to update every weekend, just a little heads up. Also, I plan on writing a ton and making this a long story, I sure hope it'll be a fun ride for those of you that stick around :D (get the joke? ride... ok...) **

**Once again, thanks for the positive reviews; and as always, have a fabulous, feathery day!**

**~$ M!**

Chapter 2

Max POV

Hell on Earth.

That's the one phrase that comes to mind in situations like this.

The only one that describes the sheer terror and pandemonium coating the air like an opaque, endless fog.

My first coherent thought as I dragged myself off the ground was _Why the hell did I just drop out of the sky?_ My second was _What the Hell is happening?! _I did a three-sixty, turning around in a circle and taking in the scene around me.

My flock and a generous portion of the islands mutant inhabitants were locked in full-on war. Immediately I saw Nudge, Gazzy, and Iggy tackling a cluster of apparently resurrected Erasers in mid-air. Not too far away from them I noticed Angel earthbound, taking on an Eraser I knew very well: Ari. However, this time around his clone wasn't capable of handling the attack as well.

_Those dumbass white-coats are really slacking as they make more of these damn things_, I seethed venomously as pain exploded in the back of my head. Gasping, I curiously fingered the back of my head, and when I drew my hand away my fingers were coated in blood. That would explain why I dropped like a rock.

A little shakily, I stood up and crawled out of the shrubs I was laying in. Stumbling a few steps, I took a small running start and did an Up and Away. As soon as I was up a few good hundred feet, I saw yet more damage and destruction. Wounded, bleeding birdkids littered the jungle floor, a few Erasers lying motionless here and there.

Something occurred to me then, something I should have noticed the second I woke up. Somebody, three somebody's actually, were missing. In a wild surge of panic, I flew at high speeds over the treetops, bobbing and weaving here and there to see around branches and obstacles. I flapped my wings as hard as I could, pushing myself to look faster, to find them and calm the bad feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. I looked everywhere any of us had been today, including the cliff Ember learned to fly off of mere minutes ago.

Just as I was cresting the top of the cliff, my fears became my new reality.

The first thing I saw was Fang, lying in a semi-unconscious heap near the edge of the cliff. And blood, lots of blood. My heart dropped somewhere around my knees as I flew slightly higher as memories from eight years ago flooded my mind. I landed clumsily next to Fang and took his hand in mine, my eyes already welling up with tears.

"Ember… find…have to…save…" He mumbled incoherently.

"What?! Where's Ember?!" I screamed, panic flooding my system. _No no no no no_, _not my baby. Not her_.

"Maya…gone…." He tried talking again. I silenced him by crushing my lips against his. I snapped my head up, already scanning the skies. Far off in the distance, at least fifteen miles away, I saw a speck flying away hastily, obviously a little weighed down with another person in their arms by the slightly lopsided way they were flying. _It has to be them_.

"I'll be back, I promise I'll be back" I said, a single tear tracking its way down my face.

Fang POV

I beat my wings as hard as I could, to the point where they felt like they'd snap off. I propelled myself through the heavily wooded jungle, catching feathers on rough tree branches that seemed to pop up out of nowhere. I hugged Ember tightly to my chest, and I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt.

"Mommy!" she wailed, staring over my shoulder, "What happened to Mommy?!".

My teeth clenched at the thought of what had happened. Seeing Maya in and of itself made my blood run cold, especially at the thought of how it was a clone, but seeing her take out Max and watch her drop like a stone was enough to make me see red. It was then that I snatched Ember out of the air and made a beeline for a safe place to hide. Every second I spent flying away I was screaming at myself to turn around, but Max and I had agreed: Ember comes first, always.

"Mommy, will be ok, sweetheart. But we need to hide" I said, even though I didn't know if either were going to happen. As I held Ember to my chest, I could feel her strong, beautiful wings beneath my arms, and it only reminded me how some things never change, and how even in the aftermath of the apocalypse we're still flying for our lives.

_Come on, come on, come on_, I chanted to myself, _where would they not look for us? _Suddenly I came to a small clearing and the cliff we'd flown off of earlier came into view.

Bingo

Taking wide, swooping arcs, but staying close to the treetops, I landed on top of the cliff in seconds. I noticed Ember had stopped crying, and was looking wearily ahead to where we were going. _My little trooper_, I thought. I couldn't even begin to imagine how terrifying this must be to her, especially considering she hadn't growing up in a dog crate like the rest of us, having to dodge whitecoats and Erasers with every step.

As we came to the cliff, I tucked in my wings and landed, skidding slightly to a stop. Just ahead, where the side of the cliff fell into a bit of a downgrade, was a thick group of trees. Still holding Ember I ran hastily through them and came to an overturned log, just big enough to fit a six year old. I gently placed Ember on the ground and kneeled to look her in the eyes.

"We have to play hide and seek now, ok?" I said. She nodded at me eagerly, thinking it was an actual game. "Listen, I want you to find the best hiding spot you can. And you can't come out if a stranger comes to play, ok? Only me, Mommy, or someone else you know".

She nodded at me again, but her eyes started to glisten when she realized I was leaving her.

"Daddy, I'm scared" she cried softly, hugging me. "What if the bad people come when we're playing?".

"Everything will be ok," I shushed her, smoothing down her hair, "Just remember the game, ok? Stay hidden. I love you."

"Love you too, Daddy" she replied, getting on the ground and crawling in the log. Standing, I circled it briefly, checking for any holes or places someone could see in, but it was solid. I got back on the ground, pulling up weeds and a few wild flowers before dropping to the ground again. I hated leaving her, absolutely hated it. I hate thinking about someone finding her, and I hated even more thinking about what they could do to her. But she'd be safer hidden like this. If the School really did find the island, one of the first people they'd start looking for is me. I needed to know she was hidden until we took care of the Erasers.

"See you late alligator" I said, my voice cracking, placing what I had collected against each end of the log. "In an hour, sunflower" Ember replied, giggling.

Turning around, I walked back to the clearing near the edge of the cliff and prepared to do an Up and Away.

But that's not what happened.

Instead, I was tackled to the ground, my face landing inches away from where the cliff drops off. Seconds later there was a pain radiating through my stomach that made black spots dance in my vision. _Why didn't I hear someone coming?_ I gasped as I tried to kick the person off of me, but they stayed put, not even budging.

"Come on now," I heard a familiar voice purr in my ear. "That was just a little too easy". The person suddenly lifted themselves off me, and I painfully rolled over to get a good look at them. My breath caught in my throat.

"Max?" I wheezed out, trying unsuccessfully to stand.

"Wow, I'd have hoped after a few months together you'd have recognized me. After all, you were the one who said I was unique from her," she said smugly, stepping around me. _How was that possible? _She's wearing the same cloths, same haircut, even has the same scratches from going hiking yesterday. And, oh yeah, _she died in my arms_.

"And evidently after accomplishing _that_" she went on, pointing at the blood barely pooling around me "I guess you were right when you said we were equal in ability".

Maya, or at least her clone.

"What do you want?" I choked out, getting straight to point. I didn't have time for games, as the gash in my stomach indicated.

"Well, now that you mention it," she said, casually plopping down on a nearby boulder, "we have been looking for someone. Have you seen her? Little girl, dark hair and eyes, roughly six, about this tall?" she grinned, holding her hand out in front of her. Realization slammed into me like a freight train. _Ember._

"You don't lay a finger on her, or so help me god…" I growled, trying to get up again but failing. It was getting harder to breathe, like the oxygen molecules in air decided to pack up and hit the road.

Maya chuckled. "Or what? You'll chase me?" she put her hands up in mock fear. "Oooh, I'm so scared". She got up from the boulder she was sitting on and brushed nonexistent dirt off her jeans. "Well, it was certainly nice talking to you, Fangie Poo. But I have children to kidnap and all the time to do it" cackling, she shot me the one-finger salute and disappeared in the trees I just came out of.

"No" I called out, fear creeping into me and air creeping out. My arms gave out under me and I slumped against the ground, rolling on my back. The next ten minutes floated by in a blur and the world eased into darkness.

Maya POV

"_Just grab the kid and get out_" a deep voice crackled from the other end of my walkie-talkie. _Yeah right_, I thought, grinning to myself, _I want to have a little fun first_. Fang, he was going to pay. He never meant what he said to me. He never loved me. I would always be _her_ clone, never myself. No matter what I said, whatever I did, he would look at me with these sad puppy-dog eyes, like just seeing me made him want to run straight back to her. And then, when that Ari clone and batch of Erasers attacked, he left my body just sitting there. Right before I left, his face showed no emotion; he didn't even look like he cared. But this, taking his own daughter from him, was like the ultimate revenge for not only him but _her_ as well. And they'll never see it coming.

I started to approach the cliff Tarik told me they were at, and made large swooping paths as I lowered myself to the ground. My heart pounded and my adrenaline soared as I pulled my hunters knife from my belt and prepared for ambush. _My my, he's gotten even more gorgeous_, I thought smugly as I was mere feet away.

Before I knew it I had him on the ground, struggling to inhale. I remember making playful banter, but my mind was mostly on the rug rat. _Just grab the kid and get out_ echoed in my head as I walked away from his unconscious body and headed for the dense forest backing the other side of the drop-off.

"Come out come out wherever you are" I hummed, almost to myself as I checked the picture again in my pocket. She had dark features like Fang's, but there was this familiarity in her face that reminded me of Max, of me. _Stop thinking of that_, I scolded myself. But I couldn't escape my own thoughts. The kid could have been ours if he had chosen _me_, if he had loved _me_.

With a new determination I continued on, only to stumble across a log splayed across my path. Curiously, I inched closer, careful not to make a sound. I heard soft breathing.

I straightened up and stepped back a few paces. _Time to be Max_, I thought.

"Ember?! Ember, sweetie? Where are you?!" I called out, trying to put as much concern and panic in my voice as I could. Almost as if on cue I heard "Mommy?" and the sound of movement from within the log. _Too damn easy_, I thought as I tried to wipe the grin off my face.

As soon as the little twerp crawled out, her eyes lit up. Within seconds she was running towards me, arms outstretched, but something made her stop. She stopped short, narrowing her eyes at me, and fear coated her face. _Oh no_.

"You're not Mommy!" she screamed, running away as fast as her scrawny little legs could carry her.

_What tipped her off?_ I thought at myself angrily as I chased her through the towering trees. I struggled to keep up with her, panting and powering my legs to move quicker. _Damn, she runs fast._ Even with my enhanced DNA and age I was still just yards behind her. From the direction she was heading, it looked like she was running to the cliff, mostly likely to launch herself off the edge and escape. Or not.

Just as we were emerging from the thicket of foliage she tried to leap over an overturned tree and tripped, crashing to the ground. I smirked and slowed my pace as I now easily caught up to where she lay, moaning and holding one arm against her with the other.

"Nice try, shrimp meat. Better luck next time." I laughed as I bent down to gather her crying form. At this point she didn't put up much resistance; obviously that little marathon had tired her out. _How cute_, I thought, looking at her adorable little face. She glanced up at me once before her eyes slid shut and she relaxed in my arms.

I wandered to the very end of the cliff, my combat boots balancing on the edge. I glanced below me; nobody noticed me, or so much as looked up from the fight at hand. I was a bit concerned at their use of Erasers, considering they were used by the School initially, but the ones they made seemed to be saner, less animalistic, ironically.

I let myself fall forward, careful not to drop munchkin, and pulled my wings out fast right before I would've collided with the sharp rocks piercing the air at the bottom. I rose powerfully and reached toward the sky, the kid weighing me down slightly as I climbed higher and higher.

Far off against the deep blue of the ocean, I could make out a small break in the water. _The submarine. _

Thankful the idiots were waiting for me for when I returned, I went into warp drive mode and sliced through the air at speeds approaching what must've been two hundred miles per hour. I positioned my arms carefully so munchkin wouldn't get whipped too badly by the wind.

_That's odd_, I thought. _I feel… _I tried to search for the right word for it in my head, and actually dropped a few feet before I recovered when I realized it. Protective; I feel protective of her. I sighed. Glancing over my shoulder one last time, I saw a fast-moving thing with wings approaching, and fast. As they came closer, their face and features came into focus: Max.

I almost felt bad just then. Almost. After all, I was taking her child, the very thing she had given life, away from her. _She should have been mine_, I reminded myself, _she should have been mine_.

I was nearly at the open submarine hatch. "No!" I heard a desperate cry a mile behind me, one filled with pain and tears that tugged at my heart. My determination hardened as I took a sharp dive into the hatch and the door shut firmly behind me.

Seconds later we began our descent.

_What did I just do?_

**Mwahahahaha! More cliff-hangers! I'll try to explain more about this "new threat" in the next update though! Once again, thank you for reading and fly on!**


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